Following the Lamb

Jesus admonished his disciples: If anyone wishes to come after him, “Let him deny himself daily, take up his cross, and follow after me.” This is more than metaphorical or hyperbolic language. He said this when he was on his final journey to Jerusalem where he would demonstrate what it meant to “deny yourself and take up the cross.” To borrow a phrase from the older Holiness Movement, Death to Self.

At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus began to tell his disciples that he “MUST go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests, and the Scribes, and be killed and raised on the third day.”

[Photo by Aleksandr Kozlovskii on Unsplash]

The Greek verb translated as “must” is ‘dei’, meaning “it is necessary, ought, needful, obligatory, it must happen.” This points to his Messianic mission. He was under Divine compulsion to go to certain death - (Matthew 16:21-23).

Peter took great exception to his words. The idea of a suffering Messiah was contrary to popular Jewish expectations. No devout Jew would tolerate even the suggestion that the King of Israel might suffer death at the hands of Israel’s greatest enemy, Rome. The idea that the priestly leaders of the Temple Israel would plot to kill the Messiah was especially offensive.

Recognizing Satan’s hand in Peter’s words, Jesus rebuked him. “Get behind me, Satan!” The name “Satan” is derived from the Hebrew word for “adversary” or “opponent.” The Devil used Peter in his attempt to thwart the Son of God from following the path chosen for him by God.

Death by crucifixion was not what Jesus desired. However, he submitted to it thereby “denying himself,” knowing it was the will of God for him to die for others (“Not my will, but yours be done!”). He calls us to emulate his example:

• “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever would save his life shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it” – (Matthew 16:24-25).

An incorrect understanding of what it meant to be the Messiah would produce a misunderstanding of what it meant to be his disciple. God called His Son to self-denial and suffering. Likewise, Jesus calls us to walk the same path.

This does not mean every disciple must be persecuted or endure martyrdom. However, using the Roman cross to illustrate how one follows him would have shocked his first-century audience since it was an offensive image of suffering and shame. Moreover, nothing symbolized the irresistible power of Rome more than crucifixion with its ability to crush anyone who resisted its sovereignty.

Execution by crucifixion was a form of capital punishment inflicted on the lower classes, especially rebellious slaves, and political revolutionaries. Romans were so horrified by it that by law citizens of Rome were exempt from crucifixion (citizens found guilty of capital crimes were beheaded).

Thus, to follow Jesus in that way meant submitting to something offensive to Jewish sensibilities and feared by Gentiles.

In the Greek text of Matthew, Jesus uses the present tense form of the verb translated as “follow” to stress an ongoing action. His command was not just a call to pick up the cross once but to do so continuously. The version of his words in Luke emphasizes the point by adding the word “daily” – (Luke 9:23).

The image of a disciple taking up the cross daily would have struck a grim chord with his first-century audience since the Roman practice was to force the condemned man to carry the same cross on which he was to be hung to the place of execution.

TRUE GREATNESS

Despite his explanation and Peter’s strong rebuke, the disciples did not yet comprehend what it meant to follow Jesus. Later, after the “sons of Zebedee” asked to sit on either side of Jesus “when you come in your kingdom,” he responded, “Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?”

Of course, they replied, “Yes,” though they had no idea what his words meant. As Jesus explained:

• “You know that the rulers of nations dominate them, and their great ones tyrannize them. But it will not be so among you. Whoever would become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever would be first among you shall be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Jesus used his impending death to illustrate the point. The Greek term translated as “servant” referred to household servants who waited on tables, a lowly position assigned to slaves. Moreover, the Greek noun used for “slave” means exactly that. The Messiah summoned his followers to serve others in ways the world viewed as menial and degrading. However, only in this way would they become “great” in his Kingdom.

His description of the “Son of Man” who gave his life as a “ransom for many” echoes the words in Isaiah describing the “Suffering Servant” who paid the price for the sins of his people:

• “Because he poured out his soul unto death and was numbered with the transgressors, yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors” – (Isaiah 53:12).

Following Jesus means humility, self-denial, and self-sacrificial service to others. For us, his disciples, this is not optional. As he warned, the one who “does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He that finds his life will lose it, but he that loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Taking up his cross is what it means to follow “the Lamb wherever he goes.”

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RELATED POSTS:

• His Path - (Jesus proclaimed a very different political reality, the Kingdom of God, one that bears little resemblance to the governments of this evil age)
• Ransom for many - (His disciples are called to engage in self-sacrificial service for others just as Jesus gave his life as a ransom for many – Mark 10:35-45)
• Servant and King - (Following his baptism in the Jordan, the voice from heaven identified Jesus as the Son of God and the Servant of Yahweh)